Corsica Linea and Le Méridionale awarded 22-month Corsica ferry contract

As expected, the Marseille-Corsica public service contract will remain in the hands of Corsica Linea and La Méridionale for the next 22 months. © Bruno Jonathan

No big surprises as the Corsican Assembly (regional parliament) has just voted in favour of Corsica Linea and La Méridionale to operate the Marseille-Corsica public service contract, starting on 1 March for a period of 22 months.

READ THE FULL STORY

Brødrene Aa delivered catamaran FREDRIKKE TØNDER-OLSEN

Sister vessel ELSA LAULA RENBERG was delivered in January 2019 © Brødrene Aa

Norwegian builders Brødrene Aa have delivered the 44m carbon fibre reinforced sandwich catamaran FREDRIKKE TØNDER-OLSEN to Nordland Fylkeskommune, the last in a three-ship series.

READ THE FULL STORY

Grimaldi orders six G5 Class multi-purpose ro-ros at HMD

The G5s will have a much bigger container capacity than the G4s built by HMD in 2014-15. © Grimaldi Group

Grimaldi Group continues its major fleet upgrading programme, having ordered six new G5 Class 45,684dwt deep-sea multi-purpose ro-ros from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) at a cost of over USD 500 million.

READ THE FULL STORY

Administrative Court of Appeal confirms EUR 86.3 million compensation in favour of Corsica Ferries

© Jean-Pierre Fabre

The Administrative Court of Appeal of Marseille has confirmed its previous ruling in favour of Corsica Ferries in the long-lasting legal battle between Corsica Ferries and the Territorial Collectivity of Corsica.

READ THE FULL STORY

Financials

New ferry routes drive Fjord1 growth

Revenues for Fjord1 in 2020 amounted to NOK 3,118 million, an increase of 14% compared to the same period last year. This was driven by new contracts for ferry routes, while the EBITDA increased by 27% to NOK 1,042 million, positively affected by new and upgraded vessels.

Finnlines weathered COVID-19 storm

Finnlines has released its Q4 2020 and full-year financial review, showing lower revenues and EBITDA, yet with a positive result of EUR 69.7 million, a YOY drop of 29%. Revenue: EUR 484.0 (574.8 in 2019) million (-16%).

Tallink Grupp more than halved its revenue in 2020

Tallink Grupp suffered heavily due to the COVID-19 restrictions and saw its unaudited consolidated revenue fall by more than half to EUR 442.9 million in 2020 (EUR 949.1 million in 2019), while EBITDA ended at EUR 8.0 million (EUR 171.1 million in 2019). Net loss was EUR 108.3 million (net profit of EUR 49.7 million in 2019).

BC Ferries’ third quarter heavily affected by COVID-19

BC Ferries carried 2.9 million passengers and 1.6 million vehicles in the third quarter (for the fiscal year ending on 31 March 2021) – a decrease of 39.6% and 22.3%, respectively, compared to the same period in the prior year. In December 2020, BC Ferries received CAD 308 million from the federal-provincial Safe Restart Program, of which CAD 154.8 million were used in the third quarter. Without this, BC Ferries would have shown a net loss of CAD 56.4 million.

Tough 2020 for Wasaline

Wasaline almost halved its turnover in 2020 compared to 2019, ending at EUR 10.5 million (EUR 19.5 million), while operating result ended at EUR -745,000 (EUR 2.1 million).

Viking Line deep in the red in 2020

Viking Line just published its year-end report for 2020, showing heavy losses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales fell from EUR 496.4 million in 2019 to EUR 188.8 million. Operating income was EUR -49.3 million, compared to EUR 17.4 million in 2019.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Financial Results and Provides Business Update

Revenue decreased 80.2% to USD 1.3 billion compared to USD 6.5 billion in 2019. The adverse impact on revenue was due to the cancellation of the vast majority of sailings in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a 78.6% decrease in Capacity Days.
GAAP net loss was USD (4.0) billion compared to net income of USD 930.2 million in the prior year. The Company reported Adjusted Net Loss of USD (2.2) billion in 2020. This compares to Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS of USD 1.1 billion in 2019.

Stronger shipbuilding margins drive Austal H1 earnings to MAUD 70.5 million

Austal generated MAUD 840.3 million revenue in FY2021 H1 (FY2020 H1: MAUD 1,038.8 million). Group revenue declined due to a number of factors, including an appreciation in the average USD / AUD exchange rate. Austal reported a 17.6% increase in EBIT to MAUD 70.5 million (FY 2020 H1: MAUD 59.9 million), notwithstanding the decline in Revenue. The EBIT improvement was driven by improved shipbuilding margins in both the USA and Australasia, some of which are ongoing and others which were confined to this particular half.

Fincantieri: BoD approves 2020 consolidated financial statements and draft financial statements

Revenues at EUR 5,191 million, pass-through activities excluded, -11% when compared to 2019 revenues (EUR 5,849 million). Revenues are negatively impacted by COVID-19, with a downturn of 3.2 million in production hours (-20% compared to the ones originally planned) in all Italian sites and a shortfall in revenues of EUR 1,055 million.
EBITDA at EUR 314 million (EUR 320 million in 2019), EBITDA margin of 6.1%, excluding pass-through activities, (5.5% in 2019). Postponement of production programs led to lower contribution of EUR 80 million.

Royal Caribbean Group reports on 2020 results and provides business update

Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) reported financial results for the fiscal year of 2020 and commented on the business considering the global COVID-19 pandemic. Total revenues fell from USD 10.9 billion in 2019 to USD 2.2 billion in 2020. US GAAP net loss ended at USD 5.8 billion compared to a net income of USD 1.9 billion in 2019.

Press Releases

These press release news are published “as is”, i.e. this is how we get it from the senders. If you want to have your relevant news published, please send it to news@shippax.se

The Original Japanese Sleep Capsules Have Arrived in Europe!

Audience Systems are launching an exciting rest concept to the cruise and ferry industry in the UK and Europe – Kotobuki’s original Japanese sleep capsules.The first sleep capsules were designed by Kotobuki in 1979 for capsule hotels - a genuinely innovative response to the pressures on space and time in cities like Tokyo and Osaka. The subject of numerous articles and documentaries, the rest of the world saw them as something exotic - and uniquely Japanese.

Copenhagen-Frederikshavn-Oslo route suspended to 5 April

Further to the latest update from the Danish government on travel restrictions, the DFDS service between Copenhagen-Frederikshavn-Oslo will now be suspended up to and including 5 April 2021. Next possible sailing will be from 6 April 2021.

Inverclyde jobs boost as shipyard announces 120 jobs

Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) is recruiting 120 temporary workers to support the introduction of a weekend shift.
Weekend production will begin on 19 March for at least six months and the shipyard requires 120 skilled and experienced contract workers to cover shifts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The vacancies are mainly for pipe fitters and steel workers in line with current build requirements on GLEN SANNOX and Hull 802, the two ferries being built for Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL).

Carnival Cruise Line Extends Pause From U.S. Through May 2021

Carnival Cruise Line has notified booked guests and travel advisors that its pause in operations from U.S. ports has been extended through May 31, 2021.

Wärtsilä and Ocean Technologies Group partner to deliver transformational learning solutions to improve safety and efficiency at sea

The leading provider of maritime smart Simulation and Training solutions Wärtsilä Voyage, and the leading maritime knowledge and technology solutions provider Ocean Technologies Group (OTG), have agreed to share their expertise and resources via a strategic partnership that will significantly enhance safety and efficiency in the maritime sector.

Gasum to supply LNG to Wasaline and to Wärtsilä’s new technology hub

Nordic energy company Gasum has entered into an agreement with the City of Vaasa, NLC Ferry Oy and Wärtsilä Finland Oy to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Wasaline, which operates the Vaasa-Umeå ferry route, and for use in Wärtsilä’s new Smart Technology Hub. Gasum is to build a local LNG customer terminal in Vaskiluoto from where tanker trucks will take LNG to customer sites.

Bureau Veritas joins the Coalition for the Energy of the Future

Bureau Veritas joins the Coalition for the Energy of the Future, gathering 14 international companies committed to accelerating the energy transition in transport and logistics.

Trimline provides COVID-safe catering areas for P&O Ferries

In January, interior outfitters Trimline travelled to Damen Shipyard in Rotterdam to install COVID-safe catering areas onboard P&O Ferries SPIRIT OF BRITAIN whilst in dry dock.
SPIRIT OF BRITAIN is the first of two 'Spirit' class ships built for P&O Ferries which are the largest ferries constructed for the cross-channel route.

SES Networks to Power Ultimate Guest Connectivity Experience on Virgin Voyages’ SCARLET LADY

SES Networks has announced that it is working with Virgin Voyages to provide its fleet with the industry’s leading high-speed, low-latency connectivity. The ultra-modern Wi-Fi service will be free for every sailor. That’s pretty fly for Wi-Fi!

Sterling PlanB, Gebhard Electro Announce Sales and Service Partnership

Industrial energy storage experts, Sterling PlanB (SPBES), and technical sales, installation and service company Gebhard Electro have announced a new partnership agreement today. The partnership is aimed at expanding access to purpose-designed energy storage solutions to marine customers in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Together, they increase access to hybrid and fully electric propulsion and power solutions throughout the region.

AecorLink to deliver highspeed Internet to Wasaline’s AURORA BOTNIA

AecorLink has been appointed to deliver highspeed Internet to Wasaline´s brand new ferry - AURORA BOTNIA. Wasaline has been using AecorLink broadband service since 2017, on the ferry WASA EXPRESS. Wasaline has had the first long distance shore to ship, satellite free, highspeed internet connection to a ferry. AecorLink will provide an updated version of the shore to ship microwave system to match the stable, low latency and highspeed internet services offered to passengers on the new top modern ferry AURORA BOTNIA.

CMAL launches Small Vessel Replacement Programme

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL), in partnership with Transport Scotland and CalMac, is commencing a major programme to replace up to seven small ‘loch class’ vessels serving the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) network.
A strategic business case for the Small Vessel Replacement Programme (SVRP) was approved in late 2020 by Transport Scotland and CMAL will publish a contract notice this week for naval architect consultancy services to support its vessels team with the concept design and planning stage.

BC Ferries' fifth battery hybrid-electric vessel launches

Another of BC Ferries’ Island Class ferries has launched, entering the water last Thursday at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania. The yet-to-be named ship is the fifth in a series of six Island Class vessels joining the BC Ferries fleet. When in operation, it will be one of two Island Class vessels assigned to the Nanaimo Harbour – Gabriola Island route.

Wärtsilä part of expanded future energy coalition unveiling concrete actions for 2021

The Coalition for the Energy of the Future, of which technology group Wärtsilä was a founding member, has identified seven development projects for 2021. At the same time, the coalition welcomes three new corporate members, thereby expanding the original membership of 11 businesses to 14.

DFDS aims for greener ferries from alternative fuel project

DFDS has partnered with major Danish organisations including Arla, Maersk, Danish Crown and DLG in Power-to-Ammonia, a new alternative fuel project. This new project is complementary to alternative fossils projects that we are already engaged in and adds green ammonia to our pipeline of alternative fossils including green hydrogen, green methanol and MASH biofuel. Future Power-to-Ammonia will see the creation of one of Europe’s largest green ammonia production facilities.